The present invention relates to a thrust bearing of tilting pad type and, more particularly, to a thrust bearing improved to ensure a uniform thrust load distribution and an effective oscillation damping.
The conventional thrust bearing of tilting pad type has a plurality of bearing pads arranged tiltably and disposed in the circumferential direction of the bearing. In this type of thrust bearing, it is quite an effective measure to provide means for ensuring a uniform thrust load distribution and damping of oscillation which may be caused by an external force such as earthquake. A typical conventional arrangement for such a purpose employs resilient members such as leaf springs between the thrust bearing pads and the support by which the pads are supported. This measure is shown in a magazine "Machine Design" (vol. 25, No. 1), published from Nippon Kogyo Shinbun-sha, Japan, in Jan. 1981, particularly in FIG. 15, page 65. This known arrangement is considered mainly for uniform distribution of the thrust load. On the other hand, there is an increasing demand for thrust bearings having excellent durability against heavy thrust load, as well as a high reliability. Unfortunately, however, there is no actual thrust bearing which can cope with this demand.